Hero rescued pensioner after gas blast
Published: May 28, 2007
An heroic neighbour today told how he rescued a pensioner as his home caved in around him.
The elderly widower miraculously escaped with his life after a gas explosion demolished his home in Dean Road, South Shields, yesterday morning.
The 76-year-old was cooking breakfast when the blast ripped through his flat, leaving him with just minor burns.
But as the roof began to rip in two, neighbours who had gathered below screamed at him to escape the property, however, the shock of the blast left the pensioner too stunned to move.
Brave neighbour David Landreth, 31, was on his computer at the time of the explosion and ran out to help, kicking the old man’s front door down when he realised the roof could collapse at any minute.
He ran upstairs and risked his life to climb over the rubble to where the pensioner was standing dazed in his kitchen, leading him to safety out of the house.
He said: “I was sitting at home across the road when I heard a bang, which was so loud it actually sounded like a huge pop.
“I ran across the road and saw a couple of neighbours trying to get in the door but weren’t having much luck, so I kept booting it until it caved in.
“When I got upstairs the man could hardly move, he was standing in the kitchen clutching a photograph of his family, and I told him he could be killed if he stayed there any longer.”
Mr Landreth led him away to an awaiting ambulance and was transferred to South Tyneside District Hospital.
He said: “It was a dangerous thing to do but I was just acting on instinct.
“I’d never met the man before even though I’ve lived her for a few years, but it’s what anybody would have done in the same situation.”
Neighbour Alan Reed, 38, who lives behind the house, said: “After the blast all of the people who live behind him were shouting at him get out of his kitchen in case the walls collapsed on him, but he was too shaken to move a muscle.
“He was eventually led downstairs by the neighbour, but it’s an absolute miracle he’s still alive.”
Up to 50 houses had to be evacuated by the Northern Gas Network as its officer carried out extensive checks on the pipeline of the property yesterday.
Polly Rourke, spokeswoman for the Gas Network, said: “We were alerted to the situation at 10.30am and worked closely with the emergency services to make sure the situation was safe.
“We turned off the gas supply as soon as we were notified and our officers checked the mains, but we found no faults.
“Nearby houses were evacuated purely as a precaution.”
Inspector Keith Howson from South Tyneside Area Command, said: “As soon as we turned up we cordoned off a stretch of Dean Road because of the dangerous state the house was in.
“Officers helped evacuate nearby houses, and we’d like to thank Stagecoach who let them use their staff canteen while they waited to return to their homes.”
Dave Tiernan, watch manager for South Shields fire and rescue, said: “The neighbour who went into the house did very well to rescue him, because there was a real danger of the walls caving in on him.”
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